Duality is a green & yellow pepper ....

Our earth, indeed our universe exists as a seeming collection of opposites. It can be readily seen, very visibly in the natural world. And in all the following examples there is a wondrous purposeful implication which when understood, can help you to understand the mechanism of life and more importantly the mysteries of ‘being’ itself. The following are concepts but by transcending the conceptual principle and moving towards the unifying factor itself, you might be amazed.

Try to perceive the unity of the following examples and at the same time see if there is any borderline between them. They are in no specific order of importance; some are more obvious than others.

Day and Night:
The day does not last; the night always returns. There can be no day without night and vice versa. Life would be very different without both. The whole or unifying factor is the movement back and forth between the two. They comprise the 24 hour period we call one earth day. One can not know the brightness of day without the darkness of night. Which really is more necessary? The careful, yet various and spontaneous combinations of both allow living beings to propagate and diversify.

Waking and Sleeping:
Our day is divided between these two states. Which is more important? Can one be without the other? Without the deep sleep we have no energy to be awake and yet we can not sleep all the time. Both exist as compliments. Are they not both needed? Funny how we devote so much of our attention to the waking state and yet deep restful sleep is life sustaining and renewing. Think about that the next time you ponder purchasing a new mattress!

Black and White (or any color combinations):
If these words were not black and instead were white you would not see them. The white of this page allows the black letters to appear.

Sorrow and Joy:
How does one know what sorrow feels like if one has not experienced joy? Without joy how can sorrow be understood?

Male and Female:
The seeming opposites when brought together allow for the creation of new life. This is the living universe at its finest. In the union of the two a visible miracle happens.

Past and Future (what has been versus. what will be):
This is a clever concept. Where does one end and the other begin?

The Ocean and the Shore:
Where does one end and the other begin? How do they need each other? Which contains which?

Work and Play:
Why do we work at all? Is it not for the purpose of granting us the time to play and relax? And yet if we played all the time would anything get accomplished?

Movement and Stillness: One cannot even understand reality without these two basic scientific concepts. The whole universe acts through these. Watch the natural world. There is an underlying stillness apparent and yet movement occurs. It is the movement which is called change that accentuates, diversifies and endlessly recreates.

Something and Nothing:
The question of the ages. Can nothing exist? Are they the same? If there was only nothing … how did something begin? What is beyond nothing …. There must be something. When in the state of something … can we perceive nothing? Is it the same in the state of nothing. But if you’ve only experienced something how can you perceive nothing? In nothing how can you comprehend something if that something has yet to exist?

Life and Death:
Ok, so this was saved until last. And yet this is perhaps the greatest seeming opposite we face in our existence. The fact is that there can be no living without dying and vice versa. One needs the other both logically and physically. For this one, the world of nature is the greatest teacher. Just direct your attention there: to the seasons, the changes, the animals, the whole process. And yes, it is one process that defies any and all concepts and philosophies. Beings die. Beings are born. It is endless. It is the greatest miracle of all.

We are intimately connected to it. Human beings die. Others are born. Is it not the life "dynamic", that continues? Is it not this whole that exists always, independent upon the forms or names or shapes. Does it not always exist? Now the key is to find that in yourself right now. abide in that, in this sense of life.

Dwell in the space of your own awareness, within your "I-am-I" state; your presence. Sense it, feel it, relax into it. What is it? Try to define it. Does it have a name, a colour or a sound? Or is it something so amazingly simple? Find it. Because this is the whole, the source, the absolute! It is YOU right now. It is not the you of concept, of name, occupation, role or desire.

There is no duality here.

It is pure silence-the unity itself, the witness of all that is. That which allows all the opposites to dance to the music of creation is the whole: the sum of all the seeming parts. There is no more reason to be afraid because that which you really are is eternal. Rest in that. Life will simply happen! Just Be!